Exclusive: McAvennie admits Diangana exit from West Ham hasn’t made much difference
We’re delighted to welcome former West Ham United striker Frank McAvennie as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at the London Stadium…
Frank McAvennie admits that Grady Diangana’s exit from West Ham last summer hasn’t made as much of an impact he first thought it would.
Diangana, 22, joined West Brom permanently in September and the decision to sell the promising winger sparked anger among fans and even the squad.
Mark Noble was left “gutted” and “angry” by Diangana’s exit but McAvennie now claims that faith has been righly put in David Moyes to manage West Ham’s approach in the transfer market.
“It’s the first time the owners of West Ham have let a manager pick and buy the team,” McAvennie told West Ham Zone.
“It just goes to show. He’s brought in his own players and managers live and die by their players.
“I heard that [Albian] Ajeti was one the owners signed. He was a terrible signing.
“But David’s bought his own players. He’s brought in [Tomas] Soucek, [Vladimir] Coufal, [Jesse] Lingard. [Said] Benrahma’s come in and is doing well. I know I wanted to keep Diangana but I don’t think there would have been much of a difference to tell you the truth.”
Diangana has struggled at West Brom since joining them in a club-record fee.
Despite lighting up the Championship on loan at The Hawthorns last season, the England Under-21 international has managed just one goal in 16 appearances since the West Midlands club won promotion and struggled with injuries.
Benrahma, 25, joined West Ham on an initial loan deal from Brentford before the move was made permanent in January.
The Algeria international has become a regular for Moyes and despite him not yet scoring a goal for the Hammers, he has supplied four assists in his 18 top-flight outings.
In other West Ham news, the Irons are eyeing up Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham.